Key arrangement for a keyboard

ABSTRACT

A key arrangement includes a plurality of keys that are arranged in a regular grid of rows and columns. The columns include a first column, a last column, and at least one middle column. The keys in the first and last columns are smaller than the keys in the at least one middle column. A method for improving the ergonomics of a key arrangement on a keyboard of a fixed size is provided. A method for designing a key arrangement for a mobile communication device is also provided.

FIELD

This technology relates to a key arrangement for a keyboard of anelectronic device. In particular, the technology concerns a keyarrangement for a handheld mobile communication device.

BACKGROUND

Keyboards are used on many handheld devices, including telephones andmobile communication devices. The size of keyboards has been reducedover the years, as newer, smaller devices have become popular. Cellphones, for example, are now sized to fit in one's pocket or the palm ofthe hand. As the size of the devices has decreased, so has the size ofthe keyboards and the keys on the keyboard. As the size of the keys hasdecreased, it has become harder for a user to accurately select thedesired keys, since large fingers have a tendency to depress more thanone key at a time. Care must be taken to select the proper key whensmall keyboards are utilized.

In addition to smaller devices, larger keyboards have also become morepopular. As the frequency of text messaging and wireless emailtransmission has increased, text-entry keyboards have become anecessity. As a result, many manufacturers are utilizing full alphabetickeyboards on their devices in arrangements that are familiar to users.Different standard alphabetic keyboard arrangements are known. The mostwidely used English-language alphabetic key arrangement is the QUERYarrangement. Other types of standard English-language alphabetic keyarrangements include QWERTZ, AZERTY and DVORAK, among other knownarrangements. Mobile communication devices also utilize numbers forplacing telephone calls. Numbers can be arranged on keyboards as astandard telephone keypad arrangement, or as a standard numeric keypadarrangement. The numeric keys may share keys with alphabetic characters,or may be positioned on separate keys. Alternatively, numbers can shareor be arranged above the top row of letters, such as in a conventionaltypewriter keyboard. In addition to full size alphabetic keyboards,reduced size keyboards are also utilized, where the keyboard utilizesfewer rows or columns than the standard alphabetic arrangement. A knownreduced size keyboard is present on a telephone, where the letters arearranged in alphabetic order.

When selecting keys on a mobile communication device keyboard, it isoften easier for a user to properly depress keys around the periphery ofthe keyboard than it is to depress keys in the interior of the keyarrangement. Keys on the periphery of the keyboard typically are notsituated next to other keys, and a user's finger will typically span theselected key and a portion of the housing of the device. In contrast, inthe interior of the keyboard, a user's finger is more likely to spanmore than one key and may occasionally improperly depress a key. This isa nuisance for a user, who must then correct this error.

SUMMARY

In accordance with the teachings described herein, a key arrangementcomprises a plurality of keys arranged in a regular grid of rows andcolumns. The columns comprise a first column, at least one middlecolumn, and a last column. The keys in the first and last columns aresmaller than the keys in the at least one middle column.

The plurality of keys may have a width and a height, and the width ofthe keys in the first and last columns is smaller than the width of thekeys in the at least one middle column. Alternatively, the plurality ofkeys may have at least a first dimension and a second dimension, and thefirst dimension of the keys in the first and last columns is smallerthan the first dimension of the keys in the at least one middle column.

The keys have a shape and the shape is one of regular or irregular. Eachof the plurality of keys may have the same shape, with the keys in thefirst and last columns being a smaller version of the same shape. Theplurality of keys may comprise keys having at least a first shape, asecond shape and a third shape.

In another embodiment, a mobile communication device comprises ahousing, a keyboard comprising the key arrangement discussed abovecoupled to the housing, and a display coupled to the housing. Thehousing may have a face with a top side, a bottom side, a left side, anda right side, and the first column is positioned adjacent the left sideand the last column is positioned adjacent the right side.

In an alternative embodiment, a key arrangement comprises a first set ofkeys having at least one first size arranged in a pattern that has aplurality of sides, and a second set of keys positioned around at leasttwo of the sides of the pattern. The second set of keys has a secondsize that is smaller than the at least one first size. The at least twosides may comprise part of the periphery of the pattern.

The first size may comprise a first width and the second size maycomprise a second width, with the first width being greater than thesecond width. In another embodiment, the first size comprises a firstheight and a first width and the second size comprises a second heightand a second width, with the first height being greater than the secondheight and the first width being greater than the second width. Thepattern may comprise a plurality of rows and a plurality of columns,with keys in the outermost columns of the pattern being the second setof keys.

In another embodiment, a device comprises a housing having a face with atop, a bottom, a left side, and a right side. A display and a keyboardare coupled to the face of the housing. The keyboard comprises aplurality of keys arranged in a pattern that has a plurality of rows anda plurality of columns, with the plurality of columns including a firstcolumn, a last column, and at least one middle column. The keys in thefirst column are positioned adjacent the left side of the housing andthe keys in the last column are positioned adjacent the right side ofthe housing. The keys in the first and last columns have a size that issmaller than the size of the keys in the at least one middle column.

In yet another embodiment, a method for improving the ergonomics of akey arrangement on a keyboard of a fixed size comprises providing aplurality of keys arranged in a plurality of columns and a plurality ofrows, with the plurality of columns comprising a first column, a lastcolumn, and at least one middle column. The method also includesdefining the key size for the keys in the at least one middle column tohave at least one first size and defining the key size for the keys inthe first and last columns to have a second size that is smaller thanthe corresponding at least one first size. The first size is at leastone of a width and a height.

In a further embodiment, a method for designing a key arrangement for amobile communication device is provided. The key arrangement includes aplurality of keys arranged in a grid pattern that includes a pluralityof columns. The plurality of columns includes a plurality of middlecolumns that are flanked by outer columns. The method comprisesmeasuring a width of a face of a mobile communication device, dividingthe width of the face by a number corresponding to the number of columnsof keys to determine a preliminary key width, and subtracting an amountfrom the preliminary key width to determine an outer column key width,with the amount corresponding to a decrease in width for keys in theouter columns of the grid pattern of keys. The method further includesmultiplying the preliminary key width by the number of middle columns todetermine a preliminary total middle key width, adding the preliminarytotal middle key width to the amount multiplied by two to determine afinal total middle key width, and dividing the final total middle keywidth by the number of middle columns to determine a final key width forthe keys in the middle columns.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURES

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a mobile communication device incorporating anexample key arrangement;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of an alternative mobile communication deviceincorporating an example key arrangement;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of an example key arrangement;

FIG. 4 is a plan view of a mobile communication device incorporating anexample key arrangement;

FIG. 5 is a plan view of an alternative example key arrangement;

FIG. 6 is a plan view of another alternative example key arrangement;

FIG. 7 is a plan view of yet another alternative example keyarrangement;

FIG. 8 is a plan view of another alternative example key arrangement;

FIG. 9 is a plan view of yet another alternative example keyarrangement;

FIG. 10 is an exploded view of a handheld mobile communication deviceincorporating an example key arrangement; and

FIG. 11 is a block diagram illustrating an example mobile communicationdevice.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

With reference now to the drawings, FIG. 1-9 depict numerous keyarrangements for a keyboard. FIGS. 1, 2, and 4 depict an example keyarrangement on a mobile communication device 10 while FIGS. 3 and 5-9depict example key arrangements. Any of the key arrangements may beutilized on any kind of input device, the example key arrangement notbeing limited to a particular application. Examples of mobilecommunication devices 10 that may derive a benefit from the example keyarrangement include mobile stations, cellular telephones, wirelesspersonal digital assistants (PDAs), two-way paging devices, and others.In addition, the example key arrangement may be utilized on conventionaltelephones, calculators, and other devices having keyboards or keypads.

The example key arrangement 20 utilizes a plurality of keys that arearranged in a grid pattern. In each of the embodiments shown, the gridpattern is regular, in that it utilizes a plurality of rows and columns.The example key arrangement 20 is also applicable to an irregular keyarrangement, where keys are not necessarily arranged in a regularpattern, or where additional keys may be arranged around a regular gridpattern.

The example key arrangement 20 utilizes smaller keys around at least apart of the periphery of the keyboard 14. In the embodiments shown, thesmaller keys are positioned near the sides of the device 10 such that auser, in the process of depressing keys, may at least partially depressthe key while also touching the housing 12 of the device 10.

The smaller peripheral keys may be smaller in width, height, both widthand height, or in general dimensions. By utilizing smaller keys aroundthe periphery of the keyboard 14, more room is allocated in the interioror middle portion of the key arrangement 20. When comparing the examplekey arrangement 20 to a standard uniformly sized key arrangement, thekeys in the middle of the arrangement may be made larger as a result ofthe smaller peripheral keys. Thus, the key arrangement will take up thesame amount of space on the face 22 of the device 10, but the interiorkeys will be larger and the peripheral keys will be smaller. The largerinterior keys are beneficial because a user will be more likely todepress the desired key and errors associated with smaller keys may beavoided.

FIG. 1 shows a mobile communication device 10 having a housing face 22,a display 16, and a keyboard 14. The keyboard has five rows and fivecolumns of keys arranged in a generally regular grid pattern. The fivecolumns include a first column 24, a last column 26, and a three middlecolumns 28. The five rows includes a first row 30, a second row 32, athird row 34, a fourth row 36, and a fifth row 38. In this embodiment,smaller peripheral keys are present in the first and last columns 24,26, first through fourth rows 30, 32, 34, 36. The keys in the outercolumns, i.e., the first and last columns 24, 26, have keys that have awidth W1 that is less than the width W2 of the keys in middle columns 28of their respective rows. The keyboard 14 takes up a fixed amount ofspace on the face 22 of the housing 12. By reducing the size of theperipheral keys in the first through fourth rows 30, 32, 34, 36, theinterior keys in those same rows are made wider. Larger interior keysare easier to depress. In addition, the slightly narrower peripheralkeys in the first and last columns 24, 26 are also easy to depressbecause a user's finger may overlap part of the housing 12 during theselection process without any adverse results. The keys in the first andlast columns 24, 26, first through fourth rows 30, 32, 34, 36 have thesame width, while the keys in the middle columns 28 have a differentwidth.

FIG. 2 depicts a mobile communication device 10 having a housing face22, a display 16, and a keyboard 14. The keyboard 14 has five rows andfive columns, although the top row is truncated and has fewer keys thanrows two through five. The five columns include a first column 24, alast column 26, and three middle columns 28. The keys are arranged in agenerally regular grid pattern, where the keys in each column and roware aligned with one another. The rows have an arcuate shape, and thecolumns angle inwardly toward a common center line X-X. In thisembodiment, smaller peripheral keys are positioned in the first and lastcolumns 24, 26, rows two through five 32, 34, 36, 38. The smallerperipheral keys have a width that is reduced relative to the other keysin their corresponding row. The height of all the keys is the same. Thekeys in the first and last columns 24, 26 are positioned near the sidesof the housing face 22. As a result, a user may more easily select theouter peripheral keys without accidentally depressing an unwantedinterior key. In addition, because the outer keys have a narrower width,the keys in the middle interior columns 28 are wider. As a result, thekeys in the middle columns 28 may be more easily depressed by a user.

FIG. 3 depicts a key arrangement 20 for a keyboard 14 that hasrectangular keys. The keys are arranged in a generally regular gridpattern of five columns and four rows. The keys in the columns and rowsgenerally align with one another. The five columns include a firstcolumn 24, a last column 26, and three middle columns 28. FIG. 3represents a reduced column QUERY keyboard arrangement, where more thanone alphabetic character is associated with a single key in three of thefour rows. In addition, a telephone keypad is associated with the middlethree columns 28 of keys, such that the keyboard 14 may be used for bothtext and numeric entry. In this embodiment, the keys all have the sameheight, other than the space key 40, which has a height slightly greaterthan the remainder of the keys. The keys in the first and last columns,24, 26 however, have a width that is reduced relative to the other keysin their respective rows.

FIG. 4 depicts a mobile communication device 10 having a housing face22, a display 16, and a keyboard 14. The keyboard 14 has five rows andfive columns. The keys are arranged in a regular grid pattern, where thekeys in each column and row are aligned with one another. The rows havean arcuate shape, and the columns are aligned with the longitudinal axisX-X of the housing. In this embodiment, the keys are oval and the keysin the first and last columns 24, 26 have been truncated such that theyhave a shape that is different from the shape of the other keys. As aresult of this truncation, the keys in the first and last columns 24, 26have a width that is reduced relative to the other keys on the keyboard14. The height of all the keys is the same. The keys in the first andlast columns 24, 26 are positioned near the left side 42 and right side44 of the housing 12. As a result, a user may more easily select theouter keys without accidentally depressing an unwanted key. In addition,because the outer keys have a different shape from the middle column 28keys, they may be more easily discernable by touch. While thisembodiment shows a key that is truncated on its side, keys mayalternatively be truncated on their top and/or bottom surfaces, or ontheir right side.

FIG. 5 is another example key arrangement 20 where the keys arerectangular. The keys are arranged in a regular grid pattern of sevencolumns and four rows. The keys in the columns and rows alignhorizontally and vertically with one another. FIG. 5 represents areduced column QUERY keyboard arrangement, where more than onealphabetic character is associated with a single key in three of thefour rows. In this embodiment, the keys all have the same height. Thekeys in the first and last columns 24, 26, however, have a width that isreduced relative to the other keys in their respective rows. Because thekeys in the outer columns 24, 26 have a reduced width, the keys in themiddle columns 28 may be made wider for a fixed size keyboard 14.

FIG. 6 is an example key arrangement 20 utilizing keys that are round.The keyboard 14 shown is a full-size alphabetic QUERY keyboard 14, wherethe letters of the alphabet take up a total of 26 keys in thearrangement 20. In this embodiment, the keys in the first and lastcolumns 24, 26 have both a reduced width and a reduced height relativeto the other keys in the rows. The keys in the outer columns 24, 26 havea width W1 that is less than the width W2 in the middle columns 28. Inaddition, the keys in the outer columns 24, 26 have a height H1 that issmaller than a height H2 of the keys in the middle columns 28. This keyarrangement 20 is designed so that the first and last columns 24, 26 ofthe key arrangement 20 are positioned on the left and right sides 42, 44of a device 10, such that the fingers will more easily contact thesmaller peripheral keys. Because the keys in the outer columns 24, 26have a reduced size, the keys in the middle columns 28 may be made widerfor a fixed size keyboard 14.

FIG. 7 is another example key arrangement 20 utilizing keys that arerectangular. Like the key arrangement 20 of FIG. 6, the key arrangement20 shown is a full-size alphabetic QUERY keyboard, where the letters ofthe alphabet take up a total of 26 keys in the arrangement. The keys inthe first and last columns 24, 26, i.e., left and right sides, of thekeyboard 14 have a width W1 that is smaller than the width W2 of thekeys in the middle columns 28. This key arrangement 20 is designed sothat the first and last columns 24, 26 of the key arrangement 20 arepositioned on the sides 42, 44 of a device 10, such that the user'sfingers will more easily contact the smaller peripheral keys. Becausethe peripheral keys are smaller, the keys in the middle columns 28 maybe made larger for a fixed size keyboard 14.

FIG. 8 is an example key arrangement 20 that also utilizes keys that arerectangular in shape. The keys are arranged in a reduced alphabetic keyformat, where fewer than 26 keys are utilized for the alphabeticcharacters. In this embodiment, four rows and five columns are utilized,with the first and last columns 24, 26 having a width that is smallerthan the width of the keys in the middle columns 28.

FIG. 9 is an example key arrangement 20 for a standard telephone keypad.The keys have a rectangular shape, with the keys in the first and lastcolumns 24, 26 having a width W1 that is less than the width W2 of thekeys in the middle column 28.

The example key arrangement 20 is preferably associated with a physicalkeyboard 14 that includes a plurality of multi-functional keys. The keysare multi-functional in that they may be used to enter alphabeticcharacters, numbers, touch tones, symbols, and/or functions, or otherknown entries. The keyboard 14 is a physical keyboard in the sense thatit utilizes keys that are movable to activate switches that arepositioned beneath the keys.

The keyboard 14 may be used for text entry and telephony entry. In theembodiments shown, some of the keyboards 14 provide a first userinterface that includes alphabetic characters comprising a standardalphabetic format, such as QUERY, QWERTZ, AZERTY, or DVORAK, among otherknown formats, for text entry, and a second user interface that includesnumeric characters for telephony entry. An example reduced key formatkeyboard is presented in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/785,790,filed on Feb. 24, 2004 and International Application No. PCT/CA02/01961,filed on Dec. 17, 2002, the disclosures of which are incorporated hereinby reference in their entirety.

The example key arrangement 20 is useful with both full size and reducedsize keyboards 14. In addition to the letters, numbers, and symbolsshown, the keys may further include symbols and functions that aretypically utilized with keyboards. Example symbols include “.”, “,”,“;”, “″”, “′”, “:”, “?”, “/”, “>”, “<”, “!”, “@”, “˜”, “$”, “%”, “^”,“&”, “(“, ”)”, “_”, “−”, “+”, “=”, “[“,”]”, “{“,”}”, “|”, and “\”, amongother known symbols. Example functions include “tab”, “caps lock”,“shift”, “control”, “alt”, “return/enter”, “backspace”, “insert”,“delete”, “home”, “end”, “page up”, “page down”, “end”, “escape”,“pause”, “break”, “send”, “end”, “txt”, “sym”, and “scroll lock”, amongother known functions associated with text entry or telephony entry.

A variety of shapes are shown for the keys in the various embodiment.Other shapes may also be utilized, without limitation. In theembodiments shown, the keys in the first and last columns 24, 26 areshown as having a smaller size than the keys in the middle columns 28.In addition, for key arrangements that are positioned at the bottom of amobile communication device 10, it may be desirable to have the keys inthe bottom 46 row have a smaller size than the keys in the upper rows.The keys in the bottom row are preferably positioned near the bottomedge 46 of the face 22 of the housing 12 of the mobile communicationdevice 10 such that the same principals of usage apply and the keys areeasier to access because of their proximity to the edge of the device.Alternatively, for a device where the keyboard is positioned at the top48 of the housing 12, the top row may have keys that are smaller in sizethan keys in the lower rows of the key arrangement 20.

FIG. 10 is an exploded view of the hardware of a mobile communicationdevice 10 incorporating an example key arrangement 20 on the keyboard14. The device includes a first device housing section 260 and a seconddevice housing section 262. The housing sections are connected togetherwith fasteners (not shown) that engage a plurality of holes 250, 254 toform a single integrated device housing that encloses the internalcomponents of the mobile communication device 10. The fasteners may bescrews, rivets or the like. Fasteners are but one example of possiblecomponents that may be used to couple the device housing sectionstogether. Other components include flexible or rigid but deformablemembers, possibly integral with one of the device housing sections,which engage cooperating structures on the other or each device housingsection or are deformed to hold the device housing sections together.The device housing sections might also or instead be coupled together bybonding, with adhesive, for example. However, the device housingsections are preferably coupled together using releasable fasteners suchas screws.

The device 10 depicted in FIG. 10 includes a PCB (printed circuit board)264. Most of the internal components of the mobile communication device10 are preferably mounted on the PCB 264. The keyboard 14 is preferablyformed by positioning a key web 233A over a plurality of switches 233Bon the PCB 264. The key web 233A and plurality of switches 233B arepreferably configured such that each key in the key web 233A contactsand operates one of the switches 233B when the key is depressed. Otherconfigurations may also be implemented, in which the number of switches233B may be less than the number of keys on the key web 233A, or thenumber of switches 233B may be greater than the number of keys on thekey web 233A. The key web 233A and switches 233B are also positionedsuch that the apertures 235 on the first device housing section 260 atleast partially expose the keyboard 14. Portions of the key web 233A areexposed by the apertures 235 to provide key surfaces that may bedepressed by a user to provide data input to the device 10. Such datainput may, for example, be used to generate data communications on thedevice 10.

A display 16 is preferably mounted on the PCB 264. When the first devicehousing section 260 and second device housing section 262 are coupledtogether, an aperture 223 in the first device housing section 260 atleast partially exposes the display 16. The aperture 223 in the firstdevice housing section 260 and the display 16 on the PCB 264 may bepositioned such that a viewing area 225 of the display 16 is exposed.The frame and other components associated with the display 16 arepreferably hidden from view when the first and second device housingsections 260, 262 are coupled together.

A speaker 234 is preferably mounted at or near the top of the PCB 264.One or more apertures 235 in the first device housing section 260 arepositioned to at least partially expose the speaker 234 when the firstand second device housing sections 260, 262 are coupled together. Amicrophone 236 is mounted in the second device housing section 262. Themicrophone 236 is at least partially exposed by the aperture 237B in thesecond device housing section, and coupled to the PCB and other devicecomponents. Audio or voice inputs to the microphone 236 may be used, forexample, to generate voice communications. When the microphone 236 ispositioned in the housing, an aperture (not shown) is provided in thefirst device housing section 260 to at least partially expose themicrophone 236. The microphone 236 may alternatively be mounted in thefirst device housing section 260 or on the PCB 264.

The device housing sections 260, 262 may include further apertures toexpose or partially expose other device components. In the first devicehousing section 260, apertures 270, 272 and 274 are configured topartially expose the auxiliary I/O devices. An aperture 268 is similarlypositioned in the second device housing section 262 to at leastpartially expose an auxiliary I/O device 228D. An aperture 266 in thesecond device housing section 262 may be provided to accommodate a powersupply such as a battery. Other apertures may also be provided in thedevice housing. as necessary.

Other internal components of the device 10 may also be mounted on thePCB 264. The device components are interconnected to provide at leastdata and voice communication functionality, possibly in addition tofurther local non-communication functions and short-range communicationfunctions. Although these other internal components are not shown inFIG. 10, most of them are preferably mounted on the rear side of the PCB264, opposite the side on which the keyboard 14, display 16 and speaker234 are mounted, but some components may be mounted adjacent to thedisplay 16 and/or keyboard 14 or on or along an edge of the PCB 264. Theinternal components of the device 10 are interconnected as necessary,through wired connections, PCB tracks, other types of connectors orconnections, or combinations thereof.

The first and second device housing sections 260, 262, when coupledtogether, form a handheld mobile communication device housing 10enclosing the PCB 264 and internal components. The apertures 235, 223,235 and 237B at least partially expose the speaker 234, display 16,keyboard 14 and microphone 236 as described above. Partial exposure ofthese components allows a user to make use of these components while atthe same time protecting the components from damage. Apertures 268, 270,272, 274 similarly expose and protect auxiliary I/O devices. When accessto a component will normally be required relatively infrequently, aremovable cover element may be provided for a corresponding devicehousing aperture. In the above example of a device power supply, a cover(not shown) is preferably provided for the aperture 266. Access to thepower supply is possible when required, but the battery remainsprotected when access is not necessary.

The mobile communication device 10 may also include a predictive textcomputer program that is used in conjunction with the keyboard.Predictive test software is useful in reduced format keyboards, such asthe example keyboard, in order to identify the desired input from thecombination of keystrokes of a user. A predictive text computer programmay, for example, be used to predict a complete word or phrase from oneor more keystrokes. If the predictive text computer program does notsuccessfully predict a desired word or phrase, then text-entrycharacters may be entered more precisely, albeit more slowly, byselecting the appropriate characters on the keys. An example predictivetext computer program is described in the following co-owned patentapplications, which are incorporated herein by reference in theirentirety: “Customizable Predictive Text Method For Reduced Keyboards,”U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/397,680, filed Jul. 23, 2002;“Systems and Methods of Building and Using Custom Word Lists,”International Patent Application No. PCT/CA03/01103, filed Jul. 23,2003, and “Portable Electronic Device With Keyboard”, InternationalPatent Application No. PCT/CA02/00862, filed Jun. 10, 2002.

The handheld mobile communication devices 10, presented in FIGS. 1, 2,4, and 10 include similar features, such as a housing 12, a keyboard 14and an output device 16. The output device shown is a display 16, whichis preferably a full graphic LCD. Other types of output devices mayalternatively be utilized. A processing device 18, which is shownschematically in FIG. 11, is contained within the housing 12 and iscoupled between the physical keyboard 14 and the display 16. Theprocessing device 18 controls the operation of the display 16, as wellas the overall operation of the mobile communication device 10, inresponse to actuation of keys on the keyboard 14 by the user.

The housing 12 may be elongated vertically, or may take on other sizesand shapes, including a clamshell housing structure, among otherstructures. The keyboard may include a mode selection key, or otherhardware or software for switching between text entry and telephonyentry.

In addition to the processing device 18, other parts of the mobilecommunication device 10 are shown schematically in FIG. 11. Theseinclude a communications subsystem 100; a short-range communicationssubsystem; the keyboard 14 and the display 16, along with otherinput/output devices 106, 108, 110 and 112; memory devices 116, 118; andvarious other device subsystems 120. The mobile communication device 10is preferably a two-way RF communication device having voice and datacommunication capabilities. In addition, the mobile communication device10 preferably has the capability to communicate with other computersystems via the Internet.

Operating system software executed by the processing device 18 ispreferably stored in a persistent store, such as a flash memory 116, butmay be stored in other types of memory devices, such as a read onlymemory (ROM) or similar storage element. In addition, system software,specific device applications, or parts thereof, may be temporarilyloaded into a volatile store, such as a random access memory (RAM) 118.Communication signals received by the mobile communication device mayalso be stored to the RAM 118.

The processing device 18, in addition to its operating system functions,enables execution of software applications 130A-130N on the device 10. Apredetermined set of applications that control basic device operations,such as data and voice communications 130A and 130B, may be installed onthe device 10 during manufacture. In addition, a personal informationmanager (PIM) application may be installed during manufacture. The PIMis preferably capable of organizing and managing data items, such ase-mail, calendar events, voice mails, appointments, and task items. ThePIM application is also preferably capable of sending and receiving dataitems via a wireless network 140. Preferably, the PIM data items areseamlessly integrated, synchronized and updated via the wireless network140 with the device user's corresponding data items stored or associatedwith a host computer system. An example system and method foraccomplishing these steps is disclosed in “System And Method For PushingInformation From A Host System To A Mobile Device Having A SharedElectronic Address,” U.S. Pat. No. 6,219,694, which is owned by theassignee of the present application and incorporated herein byreference.

Communication functions, including data and voice communications, areperformed through the communication subsystem 100, and possibly throughthe short-range communications subsystem. The communication subsystem100 includes a receiver 150, a transmitter 152, and one or more antennas154, 156. In addition, the communication subsystem 100 also includes aprocessing module, such as a digital signal processor (DSP) 158, andlocal oscillators (LOs) 160. The specific design and implementation ofthe communication subsystem 100 is dependent upon the communicationnetwork in which the mobile communication device 10 is intended tooperate. For example, a mobile communication device 10 may include acommunication subsystem 100 designed to operate with the Mobitex™, DataTAC™ or General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) mobile data communicationnetworks and also designed to operate with any of a variety of voicecommunication networks, such as AMPS, TDMA, CDMA, PCS, GSM, etc. Othertypes of data and voice networks, both separate and integrated, may alsobe utilized with the mobile communication device 10.

Network access requirements vary depending upon the type ofcommunication system. For example, in the Mobitex and DataTAC networks,mobile devices are registered on the network using a unique personalidentification number or PIN associated with each device. In GPRSnetworks, however, network access is associated with a subscriber oruser of a device. A GPRS device therefore requires a subscriber identitymodule, commonly referred to as a SIM card, in order to operate on aGPRS network.

When required network registration or activation procedures have beencompleted, the mobile communication device 10 may send and receivecommunication signals over the communication network 140. Signalsreceived from the communication network 140 by the antenna 154 arerouted to the receiver 150, which provides for signal amplification,frequency down conversion, filtering, channel selection, etc., and mayalso provide analog to digital conversion. Analog-to-digital conversionof the received signal allows the DSP 158 to perform more complexcommunication functions, such as demodulation and decoding. In a similarmanner, signals to be transmitted to the network 140 are processed (e.g.modulated and encoded) by the DSP 158 and are then provided to thetransmitter 152 for digital to analog conversion, frequency upconversion, filtering, amplification and transmission to thecommunication network 140 (or networks) via the antenna 156.

In addition to processing communication signals, the DSP 158 providesfor control of the receiver 150 and the transmitter 152. For example,gains applied to communication signals in the receiver 150 andtransmitter 152 may be adaptively controlled through automatic gaincontrol algorithms implemented in the DSP 158.

In a data communication mode, a received signal, such as a text messageor web page download, is processed by the communication subsystem 100and is input to the processing device 18. The received signal is thenfurther processed by the processing device 18 for an output to thedisplay 16, or alternatively to some other auxiliary I/O device 106. Adevice user may also compose data items, such as e-mail messages, usingthe keyboard 14 and/or some other auxiliary I/O device 106, such as atouchpad, a rocker switch, a thumb-wheel, or some other type of inputdevice. The composed data items may then be transmitted over thecommunication network 140 via the communication subsystem 100.

In a voice communication mode, overall operation of the device issubstantially similar to the data communication mode, except thatreceived signals are output to a speaker 110, and signals fortransmission are generated by a microphone 112. Alternative voice oraudio I/O subsystems, such as a voice message recording subsystem, mayalso be implemented on the device 10. In addition, the display 16 mayalso be utilized in voice communication mode, for example to display theidentity of a calling party, the duration of a voice call, or othervoice call related information.

The short-range communications subsystem enables communication betweenthe mobile communication device 10 and other proximate systems ordevices, which need not necessarily be similar devices. For example, theshort-range communications subsystem may include an infrared device andassociated circuits and components, or a Bluetooth™ communication moduleto provide for communication with similarly-enabled systems and devices.

A method for improving the ergonomics of a key arrangement 10 on akeyboard 14 of a fixed size is also provided. The method includesproviding a plurality of keys arranged in a plurality of columns and aplurality of rows. The plurality of columns comprise a first column 24,a last column 26, and one or more middle column 28. The method alsoincludes defining the key size for the keys in the middle columns 28 tohave at least one first size and defining the key size for the keys inthe first and last columns 24, 26 to have a second size that is smallerthan the corresponding first size. The first size may be the width W ofthe keys, the height H of the keys, or some other dimension of the keys.

In another embodiment, a method for designing a key arrangement 20 for amobile communication device 10 is provided. The key arrangement 20includes a plurality of keys arranged in a grid pattern that includes aplurality of columns. The columns include one or more middle column 28.The middle columns 28 are flanked by outer columns. The outer columnsare the first and last columns 24, 26. The first step in the method ismeasuring a width of a face 22 of the mobile communication device 10.The width of the face 22 is preferably the area in which the keyboard 14is going to be positioned on the device 10. This width is then dividedby the total number of columns of keys that form part of the keyboard14. The width divided by the total number of columns provides apreliminary key width. The preliminary key width is approximate widththat the keys would be in each column if all the keys have the samewidth.

The next step in the method involves subtracting a predetermined amountfrom the preliminary key width to determine an outer column key width.The amount corresponds to a decrease in width for keys in the outercolumns of the grid pattern of keys. Then the preliminary key width ismultiplied by the number of middle columns to determine a preliminarytotal middle key width. The preliminary total middle key width is addedto the amount multiplied by two to determine a final total middle keywidth. Then, the final total middle key width is divided by the numberof middle columns to determine a final key width for the keys in themiddle columns.

The method also may include steps to take into account any part of widthof the face 22 of the device 10 that is not covered by keys. This amountmay be subtracted from the width of the face 22 before the width isdivided by the total number of columns.

While various features of the claimed invention are presented above, itshould be understood that the features may be used singly or in anycombination thereof. Therefore, the claimed invention is not to belimited to only the specific embodiments depicted herein.

Further, it should be understood that variations and modifications mayoccur to those skilled in the art to which the claimed inventionpertains. The embodiments described herein are exemplary of the claimedinvention. The disclosure may enable those skilled in the art to makeand use embodiments having alternative elements that likewise correspondto the elements of the invention recited in the claims. The intendedscope of the invention may thus include other embodiments that do notdiffer or that insubstantially differ from the literal language of theclaims. The scope of the present invention is accordingly defined as setforth in the appended claims.

1. A handheld mobile communication device comprising: a housing; and analphabetic key arrangement comprising a plurality of alphabetic keysarranged in rows and columns, said columns including a pair of exteriorcolumns and at least two interior columns, wherein the alphabetic keysin the pair of exterior columns are smaller than keys in the at leasttwo interior columns.
 2. The handheld mobile communication device ofclaim 1, wherein said alphabetic key arrangement is one of QWERTY,AZERTY, QWERTZ, and Dvorak key arrangements.
 3. The handheld mobilecommunication device of claim 1, wherein the alphabetic keys in the pairof exterior columns are narrower in width and reduced in height relativeto the alphabetic keys in the at least two interior columns.
 4. Thehandheld mobile communication device of claim 1, wherein each of theplurality of alphabetic keys has essentially the same shape.
 5. Thehandheld mobile communication device of claim 1, wherein the pluralityof alphabetic keys have at least three different shapes.
 6. The handheldmobile communication device of claim 1, wherein the pair of exteriorcolumns are adjacent a right side and a left side of the housing.
 7. Analphabetic key arrangement comprising a plurality of alphabetic keysarranged in rows and columns, said columns including a pair of exteriorcolumns and at least two interior columns, wherein the alphabetic keysin the pair of exterior columns are smaller than keys in the at leasttwo interior columns.
 8. The key arrangement of claim 7, wherein saidalphabetic key arrangement is one of QWERTY, AZERTY, QWERTZ, and Dvorakkey arrangements.
 9. The key arrangement of claim 7, wherein thealphabetic keys in the pair of exterior columns are narrower in widthand reduced in height relative to the alphabetic keys in the at leasttwo interior columns.